No. 18 OU's (6-2, 2-2 SEC) offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and head coach Brent Venables addressed the media Tuesday after a 34-26 loss to No. 7 Mississippi (7-1, 4-1). The Sooners will face No. 14 Tennessee (6-1, 3-2) next at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at Neyland Stadium on ABC.
Here are key takeaways:
Xavier Robinson in rhythm
Sophomore running back Xavier Robinson recorded a career-high 109 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Mississippi and inspired a third-quarter rally.
Robinson's success comes after playing only four of the first seven games of the season with half of those coming against Illinois State and Temple, and his Mississippi performance doubled his season rushing yards.
"I thought he gave a real spark to the entire team, to the entire stadium, just being tough to tackle, being physical (and) being violent, ..." Arbuckle said. "Just the way that he has been running consistently, physically, running through trash, breaking arm tackles and being tough to take down, it's awesome. It's the player that he is. He's big; he's strong. Y'all saw he's pretty fast too. He's talented, and I'm excited to keep on getting X going."
Robinson's rhythm comes as the OU offense has struggled in the run game, contributing to a group that ranks No. 73 in points per game.
In 2024, Robinson made his mark in the run game with 233 rushing yards in seven games, including one start. He also rushed for 56 yards against Missouri as a freshman. However, the momentum did not carry into consistent 2025 reps.
"Whenever you look at that running back room, throughout spring ball and fall camp and even the early parts of the season, there (were) a lot of guys (doing) a lot of really good things," Arbuckle said. "People just see things that happen at the game, but I think it's all a body of work. And X is a great practice player, but I think we have a lot of good kids on our team who execute."
John Mateer staying confident
Redshirt junior quarterback John Mateer finished with 223 passing yards against Mississippi and was sacked three times.
The performance added to Mateer's drop since returning from injury; he has averaged 192 passing yards in his last three games versus 304 per game before hurting his thumb in a win over Auburn on Sept. 20.
However, Arbuckle stated that Mateer has not lost confidence.
"John knows that he has to play better, but I don't think in any way, shape or form, his confidence is shaken," Arbuckle said. "He didn't play his best. He knows that; I know that. We all know that he didn't play his best, but the way that he came in Sunday and came in Monday and owned the mistakes that he had, he didn't try to make excuses for things. He didn't do that. He just owned it and said, 'I got to be better.'”
As Mateer has contributed to offensive shortcomings, Arbuckle also took accountability for performances in the pass game.
"Whether it's the decision making from John on a certain few things or it can be just execution in the block itself, also at the same time as coaches, we have to continue to find ways to make it effective for them because it is a tool that can be utilized," Arbuckle said. "A lot of teams around the country utilize it. It's a tool that can be utilized. We just have to keep on finding ways to make it as successful as possible, put these kids in position to be successful and play and execute with the detail that requires for any play to work."
Venables said that, while Mateer has struggled, he has told his quarterback to not feel a burden to be perfect.
"(I) help (him) manage the burden of expectations and the burden of responsibility," Venables said. "Certainly, everything goes through the quarterback I said this a lot. Playing good people, you can't have a quarterback that plays poorly and expect to win, but you don't have to play perfect (to) win either. You just have to build it and manage the game well."
Venables responds to coach firings
Venables commented on the high number of coach firings across college football in 2025.
Notably, former Penn State head coach James Franklin, former Louisiana State University head coach Brian Kelly and former Florida head coach Billy Napier have all been dismissed from their respective universities.
"This is an anxious time, an exciting time, an anxious time in college football," Venables said. "There's never been as much disruption as there is today. Every university, fan base, ... administration standpoint, they have their own set of standards."
So far in Venables' OU tenure, he has led the Sooners to 6-7 in 2022, 10-3 in 2023 and 6-7 in 2024 before a 6-2 start in 2025. Venables said that he feels a strong connection with the OU athletic administration despite the up-and-down journey.
"I have constant communication, great support, great guidance, great structures in place to help us be successful," Venables said.
